Lexington native Ed Webster Tells Everest Tales

Ed Webster's talk Thursday night at Cary Memorial Library drew a standing-room only crowd to hear the mountaineer's tales of learning to climb as a boy growing up in Lexington, then moving on to ascend Mount Everest as an adult.

Webster's climbing story began at the library, where he first learned of the sport when his mother checked out climber Lute Jerstad's "Everest Diary" for her son. Webster, then 11, also discovered a 25-foot cliff on Meriam hill, where he then taught himself rock climb.

Thursday night, Webster told the audience about his roots in Lexington, then showed pictures and equipment from his three Everest climbs in the 1980s, including his final climb in 1988 when he and a team of three others pioneered a new route up the east face of the mountain.

Webster spent 12 years writing "Snow in the Kingdom, My Storm Years on Everest," about all three of his expeditions to Everest.

Watch the video to see clips of Webster's talk.